How does sodium intake affect your weight?

nas24
nas24 Posts: 880 Member
edited October 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Today for the 1st time i was looking threw the settings and saw that you can add things to your food report like sodium or sugar. Well i clicked on sodium for ****s and giggles, and holy cow! I was over A BUNCH!!! How does this affect your weight loss? Does it really only affect if your not drinking enough water?

Replies

  • GreatSetOfBrains
    GreatSetOfBrains Posts: 675 Member
    The daily recommendations for sodium are low, we all over eat it! I think even a tsp of table salt is over a daily value. Salt and water have a loving relationship. Where water is, so it salt. So the more salt you eat the more water you retain, etc.
  • GreatSetOfBrains
    GreatSetOfBrains Posts: 675 Member
    The daily recommendations for sodium are low, we all over eat it! I think even a tsp of table salt is over a daily value. Salt and water have a loving relationship. Where water is, so it salt. So the more salt you eat the more water you retain, etc.
  • PlumLovin
    PlumLovin Posts: 42 Member
    So glad you posted this topic b/c I did the exact same thing today & about had a meltdown!! I have no idea what it does with weightloss but hopefully someone can shed some light on this matter b/c I think I am failing miserably!!!
  • kleavitt1992
    kleavitt1992 Posts: 592 Member
    you'll retain more "water weight" if you limit it you might drop any number of weight that is being held on due to water my guess would be about 5lbs of water weight tho
  • hush7hush
    hush7hush Posts: 2,273 Member
    It doesn't have a negative effect on those that drink a lot of water, and workout strenuously.

    Sodium makes you retain water. This is an issue for people that don't drink enough, or don't sweat enough.

    I usually consumer 3,000+ mg of sodium daily. I also drink 100+oz of water, and sweat for 30-90 minutes a day. It doesn't effect me at all.

    It also has negative effects on people with heart problems. I don't know much about that.
  • bearsfan2334
    bearsfan2334 Posts: 137
    bump
  • SwtKittN
    SwtKittN Posts: 176 Member
    I've noticed I'm constantly going over on my sodium since I started tracking it :\
  • NicoleLyn1818
    NicoleLyn1818 Posts: 110 Member
    Water follows salt. If you are not exercising enough, you will retain water.
  • zarozinia
    zarozinia Posts: 67 Member
    I feel like sodium REALLY has an affect on the amount of water I retain. Case in point: I have to watch my sodium intake because I have high cholesterol, so I usually try to keep my daily total between 1000-1500. A few weeks ago, I pigged out on Roundtable pizza (which amounted to a whopping 4000 mg of sodium all at once) in a moment of total weakness and my weight shot up FOUR POUNDS immediately. I had just weighed myself prior to eating the pizza, and for the heck of it, I weighed myself after gorging, and so it wasn't just all in my head. I was so shocked and freaked out and I spent the night Googling whether or not I was crazy. LOL!

    Luckily, my weight went back down after a day or two (of very careful eating and drinking tons of water to flush out my system, mind you). But I definitely keep that in mind now that I've actually seen the numbers with my own eyes!
  • nas24
    nas24 Posts: 880 Member
    Well i had a get workout today that had me really sweating and ive been drinking water like crazy! Hope it doesn't stick to something! lol.
  • Dottie27
    Dottie27 Posts: 159 Member
    In addition to playing havoc with your weight loss, high sodium can affect blood pressure in a negative way. Until I joined MFP, I had no idea how much sodium was in the food we eat. It was a real eye opener when I looked up some of my favorite "healthy" foods for sodium content. When a person gains a few pounds over just a few days of being below calorie goals, sodium might be to blame.
  • ksloop00
    ksloop00 Posts: 144
    I don't drink anything with sodium in it. I never go over! Vitamin Water Zero is awesome!
  • hopespringseternal
    hopespringseternal Posts: 35
    I was doing great for 3 months and then hit a major plateau. I started tracking my sodium and sugar and it got me over that plateau with a quickness!!! I don't even look at my fat or carbs anymore becasue I just don't need to now. I never go over on them as long as I keep my sodium and suger in check. Today is the first day in 3 weeks that I went over on sodium. It is difficult but possible. My maximum is 2500 mg but I try to stay between 1500-2000
  • Eunitoon
    Eunitoon Posts: 2 Member
    Not specifically about your weight....but high sodium intake (>2500mg/day ) can cause high blood pressure, which in itself can cause many health problems, including stroke. I am on a sodium restricted diet (1700 mg/day) and meds for my blood pressure and I'm only 40 years old.
  • jhardenbergh
    jhardenbergh Posts: 1,035 Member
    the more water you drink the better you are off if you eat a lot of sodium, because drinking water helps you go to the bathroom and that helps to flush the sodium and water out of your system. The daily recommended allowance should be around 2500 mg, However if you have issues with high blood pressure they say you should be around 1500 mg. Alot of restaurant food and packaged foods like frozen weight watchers meals are loaded with sodium. If you stay away from that stuff you should be pretty good. I went over some today because I ate lunch out. Salad dressings are usually loaded with sodium too, so I try to use only a half a serving or 1 tbs when eating salad.
  • nas24
    nas24 Posts: 880 Member
    Yeah i looked threw my diary and just the sauce i used on my spaghetti squash alone was crazy and the soul reason i went over. Guess ill cut things like that out. Thanks guys!
  • nas24
    nas24 Posts: 880 Member
    Also just checked all the rest of my diary entries and saw that i never got anywhere close on the other days to going over. Wont be surprised if the scale doesn't move tomorrow though. Now im going to go for a walk with a sweat shirt on to help get rid of that nastiness!
  • ATT949
    ATT949 Posts: 1,245 Member
    Sodium tends to make the body retain water. If you eat a lot of salt, your body will retain water until it can flush out the sodium. That's because out bodies act as "homeostats" (Google). If you're constantly eating a lot of salt, your body will constantly retain water to try to flush it out which means that you'll have some water weight. And you're putting undue strain on your kidneys.

    The role of salt, long term, has recently come into question, interestingly enough. For many years, the word was that salt was a significant BP driver (IIRC, it impacts systole more than diastole). Recently, this belief has come into question, though. Again, Google will yield a variety of results.

    My GF's father is a retired doctor. He and I have talked about running, diet, obesity, etc (my GF runs a weight loss clinic) and his advice to me echoes that of many other docs I've spoken to. Genetics are our destiny. If your family history includes longevity, you're probably going to live a long life though obesity, poor diet, etc. can take a few years off and give you a lousy quality of life. Conversely, if your family has a history of heart attacks, hyper tension, etc. you can add some quality years but you're not going to up the "average age" of the family tree…

    Get slim, eat sensibly, and exercise and we'll all be around for MFP for years to come!
  • brendalyne
    brendalyne Posts: 497
    I try to keep my sodium under 2000. I have figured out by trial and error that if I go over that number my weight will go up regardless how much water I drink (I normally drink 10 to 12 glasses per day), or how much I exercise and sweat. I know it's "only" water weight, but it hangs around for a few days and I FEEL bloated.
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